Limerick pubs open on Good Friday in sign of Church’s decline

Share via

A judge has ruled that pubs in Limerick can open for the first time on Good Friday today because the city is hosting a rugby match expected to attract many thousands of visitors.

Good Friday and Christmas Day are the two remaining “dry” days in Ireland that have until now remained sacrosanct.

But in a sign of the Roman Catholic church’s weakening hold over Irish society District Court Judge Tom O’Donnell ruled that if pubs were open, the 26,000 rugby fans would disperse peacefully and rapidly after the match.